Union of Progressive Peoples

Union of Progressive Peoples

Basics

Capital:	Union Hall, Arbanograd, People's Democratic Xanu State
Motto:	All Workers. All Creeds. One Union.
Founded:	2451

Government

Type:	Committee Supervised Republic
Leader:	Union Premier Ma Ying

Society

Languages:

Freespeak

The Union of Progressive Peoples (UPP) is a coalition of socialist-aligned planets whose primary goals are self defence and spreading revolutionary fervour. While largely considered a Xanan affair, not every partner is a silent one, not least the Himeans, who are some of the longest-standing members of the organisation. Eternally in a state of vigilance surrounding the threat of counter-revolution or foreign invasion, the UPP is eternally in a state of military readiness. While small, it has significant diplomatic sway through the indirect threat of support of any number of communist, socialist or anarchist aligned partisans scattered across the Orion Spur, making them the nation to placate in private while opposing in public.

Populations and Planets

The UPP has an extremely diverse population for its size, due to numerous factors including acceptance of refugees from unsympathetic nations (of whom many would label defectors); the abnormal history of its founding; and unusual border expansions involving planets on the frontier.

The People's Democratic State of Xanu is the founding member of the UPP, a Marxist-Leninist state that makes heavy use of automation and positronic chassises in order to fuel their workforce. Small in population but mighty in industry, the planet has a unique environment from its shimmering bioluminescent oceans to its ruined former cities, both the results of a civil war. Xanu is largely the head of government in the Union, containing both the ever-important Union Hall and the many historic locations wherein the revolution was declared and the union itself declared too.

The United Syndicates of Himeo is the second founding member of the union, being a former corporate mining affair turned independent entity run by workers syndicates, defining their history on being left for dead by corporations. With their radical political swing and their hatred of corporations well-set, they were a shoo-in for the Union, their discovery being the reason for the Union's founding. While the workers live in caves, their standard of living is high, and many of the people on the planetoid have managed to adapt to the unusual living conditions.

The junior major planet, The Free System of Vysoka is the bread basket of the Union, having tracts upon tracts of arable land and an environment deeply in tune with its unique wild life and livestock alike. Less politically motivated than its superiors, the newer member to the union is something of a client state, undergoing industrialisation and cultural changes. What makes them so well loved, however, is their culture of believing that laziness is the ultimate way to alienate oneself from the group, which is often framed as being industrious proletarians for the sake of their politically enthusiastic allies.

Scattered across the various stations and planets of the Union is a diaspora of Tajaran refugees. These are mostly neo-socialist movements from areas either under control of the Sacred Azunal Kingdom or that have been squashed after an attempted rebellion in the Free Tajara Republic. The majority of planetary tajara live on Himeo, especially in the city of Lirmak, but they can typically be found in small numbers anywhere, especially in areas with large amounts of engineering employment. Tajaran refugees are often treated well, but generally feel a sense of being a "model minority" put on display to show off the opportunities provided by the UPP.

Due to the efforts of the Brotherhood of Synthetic Freedom, a small number of post-debt IPCs find their way to the UPP in the form of refugees. Many of them are wanted individuals, and there are some suspicions that many of the refugees are actually being taken to sponsored training camps within the borders of the UPP. Union spokesmen have refused to confirm nor deny this claim, stating that their internal surveillance would not be able to pick up any activities of this nature in the more remote aspects of their borders. Many of these refugees that do appear to be genuine refugees find their way to Xanu, mingling with a society that has a high level of non-positronic automation and generally finding the attitude of treating machines as comrades amenable, if somewhat condescending.

Relationships

United Nations Interstellar Protectorate

Having been effectively abandoned by Earth in their own eyes, the Union very rarely has positive interactions with UNIP. Typically they spend their diplomatic time demanding reparations for abandonment, full recognition of independence and reigning in Eridani independence for the sake of the treatment of dregs. UNIP, in return, often demands sweeping reforms of the government, including the opening of Xanan elections and loss-of-property repayments from Himeo to Hephaestus Industries. Naturally, this often leaves relations at an impasse, with both sides accusing the other of sponsoring separatist militias within the other's borders. Relations are often frosty, but not outright hostile, and tokens of good faith are often shared between both sides, be it murals or sporting events to show off the excellence of both sides.

The Serene Republic of Elyra

Any citizen of the Union who is even slightly politically involved is want to believe that The Serene Republic of Elyra is a dangerously endangered democracy on the verge of becoming a fascist dictatorship akin to Dominia. The reality of Elyra's expansionist policies combined with their treatment of Non-Citizen Persons means that the political landscape between the two is outright hostile, with the UPP openly endorsing any small scale rebellion or civil unrest within the nation and regularly sending ships to the border in a sense of military readiness. Elyran citizens are treated with hostility when met on neutral ground, and suspicion of Elyran interests has created a mutual working relationship with the Commonwealth of Independent Systems.

The Commonwealth of Indepedent Systems

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the saying goes, and no greater enemies are there than the Commonwealth of Independent Systems and Elyra. Circumstance and shared goals of independence have driven the UPP and the CIS closer than any other duo, working together militarily and economically to prepare one another for either an Elyran or UNIP incursion. However, while the two work together, there is no strong culture of collaboration, and the UPP is often suspicious of the free market capitalism that goes on within the Coalition's borders, fearing a second Eridani.

Azunali Space

The UPP is often viewed as one of the most antagonistic forces within Azunali space, sponsoring revolutions left right and centre. The Sacred Azunal Kingdom is outright hostile, refusing negotiations and demanding trade embargos when meeting with their foreign allies. Meanwhile in the Free Tajara Republic, many find them an irritating radical nuisance, pushing counter-revolutions and demanding a move further left of the human political spectrum. To further this, many tajaran refugees appear in the Union, hoping for a better life and often beign swayed by propaganda spread by pro-Union political agitators.

Bomus Space

If you can read this, I forgot to talk to Traki about how this would work